Pfizer has the only FDA-approved drug in a class called CCR5 antagonist. A "cure for HIV" will most likely focus on CCR5, top scientists say.
If not by Pfizer's araviroc, then a next-generation version of it could be part of the cure.
Some background:
Mutations in human genes cause muscular dystrophy, but a mutation in the CCR5 gene has a huge health benefit: people with it are almost completely resistant to HIV infection. Since that discovery was made in 1996, Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies have become focused on developing a treatment that mimics the effects of a CCR5 mutation.
Here is a summary I wrote that describes the race for a cure for HIV -- bit.ly |
